Create a Heart Rate Monitor Animation in After Effects

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Heart Rate Monitor Animation:

Step 1: Setting Up the Composition

1. Open Adobe After Effects.
2. Create a new composition by going to Composition, then rename it to “Background”.
3. Set the resolution to 1920×1080 Pixels, frame rate to 30 Frames per second, and duration to 10 seconds.

Step 2: Creating Grid Shapes

1. From the toolbar, select the rectangle tool.
2. Set the Fill color to solid white.
3. Double-click on the rectangle tool and name it “Grid Small”.
4. Go to Effects & Presets, search for the “Grid” effect, and apply it to the shape layer.
5. Adjust the Size using Width & Height sliders. Set Width & Height to 25 and border value to 3. Change the color to Green.

Step 3: Duplicating Grid and Adding Large Grid Shape

1. Duplicate the shape layer by pressing Control+D on the keyboard.
2. Rename the duplicate to “Grid Large”.
3. Change the Width & Height values to 200 and the border value to 5. Change the color to white.

Step 4: Adding Vignette and Masks

1. Go to the Layer Menu > New > Select Solid with the same green color.
2. Drag and drop it below the shape layers.
3. Select the rectangle tool, change the color to black, and double-click to create a shape layer.
4. Rename it to “Vignette”.
5. Select the Ellipse tool from the toolbar.
6. Click the “Tool Create Mask” icon and create an inverted mask.
7. Press F to open Mask Feather and set the Feather amount to 300.
8. Select “Grid Small” and “Grid Large” shape layers, press T to open opacity, and decrease opacity to 50%.

Step 5: Completing Background Composition

Your background composition is now complete.

Step 6: Tracing Heart Rate Image

1. Import the Heart Rate image by going to File > Import.
2. Create a new composition and rename it to “Main Composition”.
3. Drag the background composition into the Main composition.
4. Drag the Heart Rate shape image and lock the image layer.
5. Select the Pen tool from the toolbar, change the fill color to None, stroke value to 12 Pixels, and stroke color to red.

Step 7: Tracing the Shape

1. Zoom in and start tracing the shape using the Pen tool.
2. Delete the heart rate image after tracing.
3. Select the Shape layer, change the stroke value to 10 Pixels, and stroke color to white.
4. Rename the shape layer to “Heart Rate”.

Step 8: Animating the Heart Rate Shape

1. Click the “Add” button and choose “Trim Paths”.
2. Add a keyframe on the End value and set it to 0%.
3. Go about 3 seconds forward and change the End value to 100%.

Step 9: Creating Gradient Background

1. Go to File > New > Select Solid.
2. Right-click on the solid layer, go to layer style and choose Gradient Overlay.
3. In the gradient options, change the angle to 180 degrees.
4. Select the gradient layer, and press the P key to open Position.

Step 10: Animating Gradient Background

1. Make sure you’re at the first frame, select the Move tool, and drag the gradient to the left side. Add a keyframe.
2. Go to about 4 seconds on the timeline, then drag the gradient to the right side of the screen.
3. Click the toggle switches and modes button, and select the Heart Rate layer.
4. Go to Track Matte and choose Luma Matte.

Step 11: Adding Duplicate and Glow Effect

1. Duplicate both layers, drag them to about 4 seconds, then pre-compose them.
2. Go to Effects & Presets, search for the “Glow” effect, and apply it. Change the glow radius to 30 and the heart rate color to light green.

Step 12: Enabling 3D and Adding Camera

1. Unlock the background layer.
2. Select both layers and enable the 3D option.

Step 13: Adding Camera Motion

1. Go to Layer > New > Select Camera.
2. In the camera options, hold the Alt key and click the stopwatch icon to add an expression.
3. Type “Wiggle(2,22)”.

Step 14: Completion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created a professional Heart Rate Monitor Animation in Adobe After Effects.